Nothing Like Us

chapter 20

"Damn!" I laugh, as Chaz swings for the ping pong ball and misses yet again "You suck bro..."

He grabs the crotch of his pants "Shut up dick. I got somethin' for you to suck."

"Gonna pass on that one..." I pull my cell out of my pocket "But hold up, I bet I can get some chick to take care of that for you, don't let me forget to remind her to bring a magnifying glass so she can find that shit though."

"Fuck you..." he laughs, throwing the ball at me "Shut your mouth and serve."

"Fuck you too..." I shake my head, bouncing the ball on the table a few times before unexpectedly cracking it hard with the paddle.

"Yeah!" I yell, dragging the word out triumphantly when it sails passed him "That's how you do it Somers!"

"That shit ain't even right! You fuckin' cheater!"

Ryan appears in the doorway before I can respond "I call winner."

"Hey!" I toss my paddle down on the table and cross the room, throwing my arm around his neck to pull him into a loose headlock "What the fuck? Been home for almost three weeks and you can't even come see me? Fuck you too then."

"Whatever..." he shoves me off laughing "School and shit."

"Yeah yeah." I knock his hat off his head "How long you home for?"

"Just the weekend." He replies, bending to pick it up, before shoving me back "What're you doing here anyway, ya fuckin' trouble maker? The states don't even want your ass!"

"Yeah whatever," I head back over to the table and spin the paddle in my hand "It's good to be home anyway."

"Lies!" Chaz yells "All he's done is bitch...bitches about everything! Mostly about how he misses his "b" though. I swear to god if I have to watch him mope around about that girl for another second..." he trails off.

"Yeah?" Ryan asks, nodding "You miss her?"

"No not at all." I respond sarcastically.

"Well what's the deal?" he asks "Where is she? She doesn't like it here?"

"She's on tour with the Wanted." I answer shortly.

"Oh." He says quietly, avoiding asking further questions because he instinctively knows it's a sore subject "She knows you're home right?"

Ryan's always gotten things in a way no one else does, he knows what is really important to me. He can see through me. He sees when I'm not okay, sometimes even before I do.

"Yeah." I reply, pretending to check my phone.

He mirrors me, looking down at his cell like none of this is a big deal "You ask her to come?"

"Yep. But B takes her job seriously," I tell him, using the same excuse she gave me "She made a commitment to help with the tour before all this so..."

He bobs his head in agreement "Makes sense. So what's the deal though? How long you home? And more importantly what the fuck's with this house? Took me over an hour to get out here...why so far out?"

"I don't know..." I shrug "Something different I guess."

"Hey!" he slaps Chaz on the back of the head and yanks the paddle out of his hand "Get out the way so I can show JB how it's done."

"Ah..." Chaz grabs his head dramatically "Think I need to go to the hospital! I'm calling the cops!"

Ryan and I both laugh as we begin to knock the ball back and forth "So how long til you can go back?"